German business associations say they are fed up with an increase of cargo thefts throughout Germany and have launched a joint initiative to fight back. The 13 associations, led by the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), estimate that as much as $1.6 billion in goods are now stolen during transit across Germany each year. According to the associations’ analysis, physical cargo carried onboard about 26,000 trucks is stolen in Germany every year, averagin...

The supply chain talent pool is not keeping up with changing technology requirements, leaving a poorly-developed workforce for future logistics companies, according to findings from a recent DHL survey. The survey, and consequent report titled “The Supply Chain Talent Shortage: From Gap to Crisis,” sought input from 350 industry professions in five global regions. The findings led the logistics company to call on industry leaders to “recognize the growing talent gap crisis...

Profit for an intermodal carrier is often difficult to achieve, but for all companies it is life or death. It is profit that drives investment and growth. This is the main focus of an industry course recently developed in conjunction with Rutgers University. My background as an engineer and consultant in the industry for 50 years culminated in my becoming the CEO of Navieras de Puerto Rico (NPR), where all my years of experience came together. NPR was a true intermodal company s...

Two U.S. House lawmakers have introduced a bill to promote programs in two-year community and technical colleges in an effort to stimulate jobs in the domestic maritime industry. “In our district, we have a surplus of maritime jobs and not enough people with the skills and training to fill them,” said Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, who represents the Port of Houston area and drafted the bill along with Republican Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia. “The industry is continuing ...

U.S. transportation regulations - both existing and proposed - are getting in the way of industry safety improvements, according to a new report from the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government. Future safety gains in freight and passenger transportation “are being held back by government red tape that stifles innovation and improvement,” according to the report, ...

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said the MIT Global SCALE Network has launched a three-continent supply chain graduate program, which will take place in Asia, Europe and North America. The 10-month program has been dubbed the MIT-Zaragoza-Ningbo Master of Engineering in Logistics and Supply Chain Management program, or 3C Master’s Program , and will be taught in English. The 3C Master’s Program was jointly created by th...

Reversing course on USMMA Sea Year On Jan. 11, Secretary of Transportation nominee Elaine Chao received a warm welcome during her Senate confirmation hearing. Introduced by her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and answering to a dais of familiar faces, the long-time Washington insider faced few contentious questions and provided few substantive responses. One question in particular, however, garnered a robust reaction from Secretary Chao. When Missouri Senator R...

The U.S. Department of Transportation will award $300.3 million in grant funding for transportation research and education, according to a statement from Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. The funds will be dispersed to 32 university transportation centers (UTCs) to advance research and education programs addressing critical transportation challenges in the United States, Foxx said. The awards include up to $72.5 million in funding for the 2016 fiscal year, and ...

Japanese ocean carrier Mitsui O.S.K. Line (MOL) has appointed Mitsuhiro Iwata and Toshitake Daigo as chief country representatives of Brazil and Mexico, respectively. Effective Dec. 1, 2016, Iwata and Daigo will report to Toshiya Konishi, chief executive representative, Americas. They will be responsible for enhancing cross-sectional and inter-regional connections within the MOL Group, as well as developing and offering proposals for comprehensive transport services in response ...

Squeezing perishable exporters One of the methods marine terminals and port authorities have used to curb congestion arising from the new reality of mega-size containerships is to reduce the amount of time export containers can be stored on the dock without charge, known in the industry as “free time.” Free time varies by port and terminal, but can be several days or more. Shippers are also unhappy with less free time for imports, complaining that they usually can’...

The Chamber of Marine Commerce has appointed Raymond Johnston interim president. He will oversee the implementation of the recently announced merger between the Chamber of Marine Commerce and the Canadian Shipowners Association (CSA), and will lead the association until the recruitment process for a new president is completed. Prior to joining the chamber in 2000, Johnston was president and chief executive officer at Canada Steamship Lines. William J. DeWitt III will retire as ...

The use of application programming interfaces (APIs) in the transportation and logistics industry has garnered much attention in the last year. There are a number of API providers and logistics software companies providing APIs in lieu of traditional electronic data interchange (EDI) messages that connect systems to transmit key data like rates, transit times and shipment status messages. A host of transportation management systems providers, in particular, have eme...

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and its subsidiary MOL Information Systems, Ltd. have partnered with Yokohama National University to study ocean shipping data analytics, the company said in a statement. The Japanese ocean carrier will conduct a joint study with YNU on the analysis and use of big data in ocean shipping in an effort to improve economic and maritime data analysis and market and bunker price forecasting methods using artificial intelligence (AI). The st...

The U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) will begin providing supply chain threat reports to critical U.S. telecommunications, energy and financial businesses, the agency said in a statement. The reports are part of an effort to defend against cyberattacks and other threats that could result in the theft of vital data or disrupt operations in critical systems. NCSC said the reports will initially be distributed to government partners, and eventually be ma...

Representatives from the maritime and oil and gas sectors have joined forces in their efforts to accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as marine fuel, coalition member Wärtsilä said today. The newly-formed SEA/LNG coalition is comprised of NYK Line, Port of Rotterdam, Lloyds Register, TOTE, Mitsubishi, GE Marine, Carnival Corporation, DNV-GL, Qatargas, Shell Downstream, GTT, ENGIE and ENN Group. The aim of the group is to promote the...

The Rolls-Royce led Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative (AAWA) laid out its vision for the future of shipping last week - a vision that includes remote-controlled and fully autonomous cargo vessels by 2020. AAWA, a project designed to bring together universities, ship designers, equipment manufacturers and classification societies to research the technology and regulatory issues surrounding remote and self-driving ships, released a white paper in conjunct...

Erik Stromberg Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas recently named veteran port administrator Erik Stromberg to lead its new Center for Advances in Port Management and prepare the next generation of port managers. The CAPM will offer a Master’s program for students on a traditional college track or industry participants who can earn their degree through a remote, online environment, as well as conduct research on issues of importance to ports, such as risk management, cybe...

The U.S. Senate last week unanimously passed the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation (RESPONSE) Act, according to a statement from the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. The RESPONSE Act will provide additional training for first responders, specifically for handling freight train derailments that include hazardous materials such as crude oil. The legislation establishes a public-private council of emergency re...

The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) said the industry, especially freight intermediaries, has a role to play in keeping products that infringe on intellectual property rights out of the supply chain. The TIACA Position Paper: Intellectual Property Rights And The Air Cargo Industry (http://www.tiaca.org/page/iprpaper) was put together by the organization’s Market Access and Trade Facilitation Subcommittee and approved by the board, which includes members from across t...

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has released its web-based Transportation Rail Incident Preparedness and Response (TRIPR) training resource, which provides emergency responders with critical information and best practices related to rail incidents involving Hazard Class 3 Flammable Liquids such as crude oil and ethanol. “This off-the-shelf training is available online and can be used anywhere throughou...

Three industry veterans have partnered again to launch Dynamo, an incubator for transportation and logistics start-up ventures based in Chattanooga, Tenn. Partners Ted Alling, Barry Large and Allan Davis previously founded Access America Transport, which they sold freight broker Coyote Logistics Inc. in 2014 before Coyote itself was purchased by UPS Inc. last year for around $1.8 billion. The three are currently working together at another Chattanooga-based venture incubator cal...

With suppliers worldwide competing for the same deals, global markets have never been as competitive as they are today, and this competitiveness is constantly accelerating. In this environment, it is crucial for multinationals to use all available sources of cost advantage. Free trade agreements (FTAs) are one such source. Problem is, too many multinationals aren’t fully leveraging FTAs. Last December, my column highlighted a Thomson Reuters and KPMG survey that found ...

Third party logistics services provider Dachser has set up a new central organization — called Corporate Solutions, Research & Development — to further develop industry-specific logistics solutions and bundle its research and development activities. Stefan Hohm has been appointed head of the new unit. He most recently led the Dachser Logistics Center in Hof, Germany. Dachser said responsibilities of the new unit include “new and continuing development of v...

The U.S. Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has proposed a set of national prerequisite training standards for entry-level commercial truck operators seeking to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL). The agency said the proposed rule reflects its discussions with a committee comprised of FMCSA representatives and 25 stakeholders, including 25 representatives from carriers, highway safety, driver training, state licensing, law enfor...

The Washington, DC-based Eno Center for Transportation has appointed Robert J. Puentes as president and chief executive officer, effective April 11. Puentes, who succeeds Joshua Schank, is currently head of the Metropolitan Infrastructure Initiative at the Brookings Institution. Schank left the think tank in early October to become the chief innovation officer for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Puentes' areas of focu...

I just experienced an amazing opportunity, in which I was invited by the U.S. House Small Business Committee’s agriculture, energy, and trade subcommittee to testify at a hearing covering export control reform. Export reform has been applauded by U.S. exporters, thanks to the leadership of Commerce Department officials Eric Hirschhorn and Kevin Wolf. As a member of the nation’s trade community, I appreciate the huge undertaking to modernize the U.S. export control system and the accomplishm...

With around 400 free trade agreements in effect globally, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is poised to create new opportunities for multinational companies. And with increasingly complex supply chains, companies that do not fully utilize all of the FTAs available to them are operating at a competitive disadvantage. It turns out most companies fit this profile. In a recent survey by Thomson Reuters and KPMG, just 30 percent of trade spec...

Ask a purveyor of trade compliance software what drives most customers to their solutions and the answer is generally “penalties.” Like homeowners who only get flood insurance after finding their basement under three feet of water, many companies begin to get smarter about how they handle critical compliance processes after they’ve been caught doing something wrong. And one of the major no-no’s for exporters is dealing with people, companies, organizations, or coun...

UPS will open a driver training facility in Atlanta this December. At UPS Integrad training centers, UPS drivers learn the company's driving and service methods, are shown how the methods work and then practice these methods in a realistic, hands-on fashion, the express carrier said. The training uses three-dimensional computer simulations, webcast learning modules and classroom instruction. Separate classes for driver supervisors are also performed at UPS Integrad ...

Sparrows Point Terminal has named Eric Gilbert executive vice president of development. He will oversee the master planning and development of the former Bethlehem Steel plant property in the Baltimore area into a modern, multitenant logistics site. Before joining Sparrows Point Terminal, Gilbert was senior vice president of infrastructure and logistics for CenterPoint Properties. Kerry Logistics Network Ltd. has appointed Thomas Blank managing director of Eu...

On Second Thought with Julie Gibbs BPE Global just published our sixth annual Export Operations and Compliance Benchmarking Report , written in partnership with American Shipper . What we’ve been able to glean from the survey results is that there are several opportunities to be had with regards to exports and they are not all that obvious. U.S. exporters have a lot to consider whether it be moving into new markets, new trade agreements, changes to the regulations or greater global responsi...

Since 1952, the New York-based National Cargo Bureau has been inspecting the loading, stowage, securing and documentation of containerized cargoes. The Bureau is a not-for-profit company founded by the U.S. Coast Guard to improve safety at sea focusing on cargo operations. Below are a few egregious examples of poorly stowed cargo done by American shippers, which were found while performing inspections over the years: Frozen fish : Frozen fish in loose stow slide, chafe and ultimately destroy...

Please visit the El Faro Family Relief Fund to contribute. TOTE Maritime has announced the creation of a family relief fund whose resources will be used to support the 33 families of the El Faro crew. The ship's regular crew of 28 and five shipyard workers from Poland were on board the TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico ship when it was last heard from on Oct. 1 as it neared the eye of Hurricane Joaquin near Crooked Island in the Bahamas. The fund will be held and administe...

The U.S. Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will give out three grants totaling $5.9 million to provide hazardous materials training for volunteer or remote emergency responders that may encounter rail accidents involving potentially flammable liquids, such as crude oil and ethanol. The Assistance for Local Emergency Response Training (ALERT) grants were made available through the 2015 Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriat...

On Second Thought with John Tabor It’s hard to believe that we are now halfway through the third quarter of 2015, and closing in on the back-to-school season that kicks-off the frenetic, end-of-year run of holidays. Before we plunge into Q4, let’s take a look back at some of the trends that shaped 2015, and a look ahead at the challenges awaiting the logistics industry in 2016. And let’s not forget that the more things change, the fundamentals of ensuring cargo security remain timeless.&nbs...

Sixteen session tracks, dozens of exhibitors, endless possibilities for networking—the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ annual conference can be information overload for the veterans and newcomers alike. And CSCMP understands that, which is why for this year’s conference, to be held Sept. 27-30 in San Diego, the organization built five so-called cornerstones to help attendees find the sessions and networking opportunities most vital for their business. &n...

Third-party logistics services provider Kenco has set up a facility at its Chattanooga, Tenn. location that will focus on researching and developing new approaches to supply chain management. Third party logistics services provider Kenco has set up at a department at its location in Chattanooga, Tenn., that’s focused on researching and developing new approaches to supply chain management challenges. The Kenco Innovation Labs and its staff will work with customers to ...

Strategic View with Walter Kemmsies As economic activity and capacity utilization continue to increase, managers are shifting their attention from macroeconomic trends to more basic issues, such as improving performance and growing their business. To do that, it always helps to build up one’s knowledge base. Below is a list of classic books on a range of topics that are not only helpful, but also make good summer vacation reading. What’s inspiring about these books is tha...

USA Truck, Inc. has recently named Thomas Glaser chief executive officer and president. Former CEO and director John M. Simone has resigned due to health reasons. Glaser had served as USA Truck’s interim chief operating officer for the first half of 2013. He has more than 30 years of management experience in the trucking industry. England Logistics has hired Justin Olsen as vice president of legal and risk. He comes to the company with more than 20 years of experience practicin...

English automobile and engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce will head the new Advanced Autonomous Waterborne Applications Initiative, a research project that could potentially pave the way for autonomous ocean vessels, according to a report from IHS Maritime. The project is designed to bring together universities, ship designers, equipment manufacturers, and classification societies to research the technology and regulatory issues surrounding remote-controlled and self-driving ships....

On Second Thought with Renee Roe Although the U.S. government has been regularly updating the Russia/Ukraine-related sanctions it has provided little guidance on exactly how the industry is supposed to successfully execute processes which allow those of us in shipping and compliance functions to meet the requirements of those sanctions. We’re being asked for insight into industry best practices and guidance on how to proceed. Each company will have different circumstances which impact its a...

The Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents on June 12 approved a new Bachelor of Applied Science degree program in Logistics Operations Management to be offered by Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno. TMCC’s four-year logistics degree program, which will focus on preparing students to work in supply chain operations and planning, is the first and only one of its kind in Nevada, according to a statement from the school. TMCC will offer the new program starting w...

Maritime services provider V.Group, in conjunction with third party ship management subsidiary V.Ships, has opened a new office and seafarer training center in Manila, Philippines. The 6,700-square-meter facility is located in the Aseana II building and will house a workforce of over 270 management and administrative employees. V.Group said in a statement the new training center represents the largest single investment in the company’s history and it expects the Aseana City dist...

One of the least known treasures of New York City is the Maritime Industry Museum, located in the heart of the State University of New York’s Maritime College at Fort Schuyler. The fort is a pre-Civil War pentagonal structure that was begun in 1833. The walls are made from granite blocks at least five-foot thick. During the Civil War, the fort first served as a staging area for Union troops. Numerous regiments, including the New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, mustered here before heading...

The U.S. Transportation Department’s Federal Aviation Administration has selected a Mississippi State University team as its Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (COE UAS). The center will focus on research, education and training in safety and integration of UAS into the nation’s airspace, the agency said. “We expect this team will help us to educate and train a cadre of unmanned aircraft professionals well into the future,” said Transportation ...

ClassNK has established a new Global Research and Innovation Center (GRIC) in Singapore. The classification society said in a statement the GRIC will primarily cover two main sectors of research. Maritime technologies will encompass research and development of new technologies and improving existing technologies in the fields of safe/smart ships such as condition-based monitoring technology, and eco-technology in areas like alternative fuel engines and emission control. &...

The World Customs Organization has waited for the World Trade Organization’s agreement on trade facilitation to be approved for more than a decade. On Nov. 27, the wait was finally over when the 160-member trade body approved the full implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, the first multilateral trade agreement in the WTO’s 20-year history. The agreement contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including tho...

The logistics staff that you hire today for your business, whether you’re a shipper, transportation intermediary or freight carrier, will mostly come from the millennial generation. While it’s difficult to group people together—the 80 million or so millennials would be those individuals who entered the workforce after 2000—it’s often the best way to identify overarching characteristics about the way a certain generation lives, thinks and interacts with one another. ...

The International Civil Aviation Organization launched its prototype conflict zone risk information repository in response to recommendations from the United Nation’s High-level Safety Conference in February. The new repository is designed to provide up-to-date information on potential risks to civil aviation arising from armed conflict to representatives from States, airlines and the general public. Only authorized State officials will have the right to submit risk information ...

LinerGame, a company that uses a table-top simulation game to educate players about the container shipping industry, is expanding by setting up agencies in France and Singapore. Founded in 2014, the Copenhagen-based company uses container vessels made from LEGO bricks. The simulation game, which about 200 people have played to date, allows for training of people new to the industry, as well as advanced simulation of shipping processes for experienced liner executives. Recently, ...

An education module has been developed jointly by the country’s oil companies and railroads for first responders to derailments of trains carrying crude oil. "While the first steps are to prevent and mitigate the impact of train derailments, if an incident happens, we also need to make sure firefighters and first responders have the knowledge they need to protect local communities,” said Jack Gerard, president and chief executive officer for the American Petroleum Institute in a...

TX Logistik AG (TXL) increased the frequency of its rail service between Herne, Germany and Malmö, Sweden from six departures per week to eight. The private rail transport company, owned by Ferrovie dello Stato subsidiary Trenitalia, said the service expansion was driven by demand both in the German market and the greater European market. “This consolidates our position as the strongest provider for the Nordic countries,” Jörg Nowaczyk, director of intermodal at TXL, said in a ...

On Second Thought with Tom Nightingale In this business, we measure everything. Metrics for this, metrics for that… And, we all agree that our employees are the core of our success. However, despite our obsession with measuring, some companies still do not track one of the most important metrics of all—their staffs’ engagement with the company. “Employee engagement” is a critical metric for companies interested in keeping valued workers who are willing to give discretiona...

On Second Thought with Andrea Appell “We are going global!” Four familiar words proclaimed by many U.S. companies, large and small. For a company and its employees, these words are thrilling, energizing, and motivating. But what does this actually mean to each function of a company? How does the movement to “go global” impact you? How can you get it right? Sales or product development professionals may interpret this call to arms as developing new products and laun...

Transportation companies and shippers, along with several public entities, have created a logistics training center at Logistics Park Kansas City (LPKC). Supporters of the training center include NorthPoint Development, Johnson County Community College (JCCC), the City of Edgerton, Workforce Partnership, BNSF Railway and the Southwest Johnson County Economic Development Corp. NorthPoint is making an in-kind contribution of about 5,000 square feet of space for ...

In March 2006, I remember attending an event in Oakland about trade with China and hearing a dynamic speaker talk about trade compliance. Not knowing anything about trade compliance at that point, the speaker sounded thoroughly impressive. Nearly 10 years later, every time I hear Beth Peterson speak, whether it’s at a conference, or on one of the many webinars she does with us, she sounds just as impressive. Peterson celebrated the 10-year anniversary of her global ...

Just before Thanksgiving I spoke with Andrew Kinsey, a senior marine risk consultant for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, who addressed a variety of issues on his radar screen. A retired master for both Maersk Line, Ltd. and the U.S. Military Sealift Command, he was returning from Alabama where he had done a loss control survey of the primary container terminal in Mobile, operated by APM Terminals. He believes Mobile, like Houston, is well positioned to ben...

Contemporary anecdotal evidence suggests, and recent empirical substantiation supports, the phenomenon that shippers are continually misusing Incoterms. This practice continues among the world’s shippers despite the International Chamber of Commerce’s insistence that certain terms are solely intended for maritime or intermodal containerized freight. But the fault may not lie solely on the buyers and sellers or their designated freight forwarders. International banking institutions often fail...